Real Madrid legend has backed former teammate Cristiano Ronaldo to hit back his top form soon, adding that Portuguese forward’s attitude will soon bring an end to his recent struggles in front of goal
Ronaldo has endured a poor start to the 2016-17 season by his own lofty standards, as he has struggled to find the back of the net consistently. Making a belated start to the season after recovering from the knee injury he suffered in the Euro 2016 final win over France, Ronaldo has found goals hard to come by, scoring just four in nine games in all competitions so far.
In what is his worst start to a season in the Real Madrid shirt, the Portugal captain is yet to find the swagger that has made him such a force in front of goal. And it was more of the last weekend as Real Madrid left it late to beat Athletic Bilbao 2-1 at the Bernabeu in a game where Ronaldo took 11 shots on goal, failing to convert any of them.
But former Madrid captain Raul, who is also La Liga’s country manager in the United States, told Cadena SER’s“El Larguero” radio show that he expects Ronaldo to roar back to form sooner rather than later.
Highlighting Ronaldo’s attitude, Raul said: “[Ronaldo] has personality and hunger. What he wants is the best for the team, and he is always very self-critical and asks a lot of himself. He always wants to be in good form. He gets 50 goals a season! I used to find it tough to get to 20.”
Meanwhile, Raul also added that he expects Ronaldo to clinch the Ballon d’Or for the fourth time in his career as the shortlist of 30 nominees was released yesterday by France Football.
The Portuguese superstar was one of six Madrid players in the shortlist, and Raul believes Ronaldo’s success in both the Champions League and the European Championship will help him beat Lionel Messi and Antoine Griezmann to the top prize.
“I think it will be Cristiano. It is between Cristiano and Messi, and Griezmann could be on the podium,” he said. “Cristiano, Messi and Griezmann would be a good podium. The Champions League and the Euros have a lot of weight, and I believe this is Cristiano’s year. It depends on the moment in time. Cristiano and Messi have their level, then it depends on whether you like one or the other.”
Real Madrid next face Cultural Leonesa in the fourth round of Copa del Rey and Ronaldo will be eager to rediscover the goalscoring touch that has made him such a fearful prospect for defences in Europe.
